We had a fantastic experience stocking up here before our stay in Pahoa. Not only did they have everything we could have wanted, but the prices were way lower than we had anticipated finding in the islands. Sure, most items were more expensive than on the mainland, but there were a few things we picked up that cost us less than we're used to spending at a Safeway/Randall's in Texas. Granted, they are one of the most expensive major chains... Still, it was nice to have such an assortment of products available before heading to such a limited market further South. read more

Overall good store, with fair priced items. Every employee is pretty friendly except for one named Katherine. I don't know what her problem is. What a grouchy snob read more

6 months after my last review, leading off with how PREPOSTEROUS the Safeway.com website is, there is still no fix. First I'm told I entered the wrong email/password, when in fact I have AUTOFILL. Then being forced to change my email/password I am provided a temporary password. After entering it and being prompted to enter a new permanent password, I am told I entered the WRONG email/password! Then when I filled out the contact form to find out what to do now, the SUBMIT BUTTON DOESN'T WORK. What a bunch of morons these Albertsons/Safeway incompetents are. read more

I picked up a very large carrot cake last night for my husbands birthday party from the SAFEWAY BAKERY and it is the MOST DELICIOUS CARROT CAKE we've ever had. read more

Yesterday things didn't go well for me. After shopping, pushed my cart thru the rain, popped my trunk, quickly put my groceries in the trunk , and shut the trunk. In my hurriedness I had also locked my car keys in the trunk. My cellphone was locked in the car. I went back inside to customer service to see if there was anything they could do or suggest. Another problem...I didn't know my wife's phone number...I mean these days, does anyone know anyone's number? Lol Three employees began trying to help! Particularly, "Arriel" , who went beyond any reasonable expectations, and stuck with me through it all. Things turned out well in the end. Flowers hadn't wilted too much. The frozen chicken hadn't thawed. Ha. I would like to say Big Mahalos to the staff there! I'll be back..... read more

Newly opened in March 2011, this location (next to Target) rivals any other grocery with its huge selection of foods and groceries. Parking lot is massive and makes coming here worthwhile. Store has a pharmacy, flower shop, Bank of Hawaii and Starbucks. Lots of giveways this grand opening weekend! read more

Safeway - a parking lot full of cars - Grocery Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Great big grocery store with almost everything you need. They even have some locally grow/ baked/ made goods to buy to support the locals! The employees are super helpful and courteous. Clean. Plenty of parking. read more

This review is for the gas station only . The cashier that rang me up was super rude and has absolutely no customer service skills . He should find another job if he can't even give a smile or a simple thank you. Customer service has sure gone down at this location. read more

Always no more rice when i go to get a poke bowl....lose money...same answer..." i guess no one made rice" better start making um if das your job read more

Terrible customer service. The first reaction in this store is not "the customer is right" it's " let's get defensive and argue with the customers" and this goes all the way up to the grocery manager. Not the first bad experience I've had. I'm done shopping here. read more

New store is clean. Biggest problem is how expensive the products are. Pros Excellent cuts of meat. Only butchers who no how to properly cut meat. Generally meat taste good as well although fish is scary Clean clean and clean Wine selection pretty good Free wireless Always have a cart as staff keeps them in store and out of parking lot Staff friendly with some exceptions Cons Expensive Lines can back up out the door and management to incompetent. Or just doesn't care enough to open another cash register Shopping at Safeway Hilo for 8 years. Butcher shop (depending on whom you get) plays the we no talk to Houlee (white guy). Several of the butchers will cut meat to your taste. But two others that no can do. Irritating, you get use to it in Hilo but its prevalent in butchers dept. note several others are great and on my Christmas card list for the help they give us Management. Always out of sale items after several hours. Always. Long lines. Produce out of date. Never available when needed Our choices are limited in Hilo. We're add monkeys. We follow the adds. For Hilo. Buy produce at KTA. Fish as well as they have best selection Meat cuts best at Safeway. Foodland sells local beef but cuts are small. But big island beef Ono read more

If you have a Safeway card, this place not bad. We come for the poke! They always have one poke that is made from fresh caught local fish...we always get that. read more

$3.92 for a gallon of regular gas? This is only one reason Safeway is a great place to shop. Its also clean and always stocked. The deli always has customers due to their impressive spread of hot foods, more choices than other supermarkets. I know that the prices are sometimes high here, but just shop smart and this will be a stop every time. Use their "Just for U" app and save money! read more

Thomas in the meat department is awesome, always super helpful and knows his stuff. Dave is a really great cashier who is really nice too. Lots of he staff are friendly and helpful, and the store is well stocked, neat, and clean. read more

Friendly, genuine customer service here. They recognize you and greet you warmly. They always have beautifully marbled meats that make your mouth water. "Kalapana" and "spicy" poke are my favorites here, though the freshness can be questionable at times because its not always made with locally caught ahi :(. I would love to see them support more local fisherman rather than import their supply. Although I would rather encourage and support buying local (the farmers market always has better produce than any grocery store), Safeway is my go-to grocery store. They have everything to satisfy my cravings and needs. Their club card and just-for-you programs offer some unbelievable deals, and the store is definitely always clean, neat, and shoppable. read more

With the newest Fuel station added and the cheapest gas in town, parking lot has become a nightmare with cars zooming thru parking stalls to fuel up. Definitely need speed bumps there is not 1 speed bump in this parking lot. Also need some kind of parking stall barriers or something to stop cars from zooming across parking stalls. read more

I only go here for two things only. The flowers if i ever need for occasions (birthdays, Valentine's, get wells, Mother's Day etc.) and the produce. They have a big selection of those two things. They have the biggest produce section I have ever been to in Hilo, and have floral things if you need one right away. They also have self-checkout if you're into that. I prefer either, which ever line is shorter. read more

I had to drop a star. They ran out of my favorite yogurt and two days later they still haven't restocked it. boo!

What is nice about the new Safeway is the bakery (when the prices are reduced) and the wide uncrowded aisles. One thing I don't like is that there is often only one cashier--at a "Less than 15 Items" check out counter. But what bothers me the most is that I am usually overcharged. When I go to customer service (usually the next time I come into the store--and almost every time) they are rude and never apologize for their mistake. On the rare occasion that I was overcharged at KTA, customer service was friendly and apologized. No wonder their aisles are so crowded; they also have several check out counters open. And unlike Safeway THEY donate to the local school of your choice, whereas Safeway asks YOU to donate every single time you enter the store. I read online that they use part of the donations to buy Safeway store cards to give to the employees who get the most donations and that they use customer donations as a tax write-off. Why would anyone donate through them? Well, it is pretty embarrassing being asked to say "yes" or "no" (and it is meant to be so) in front of the other people in the line. I can see how some people could be "guilted" into donating. I believe Safeway used to be different. But if you read online blogs the complaints about them are pretty much the same. There was even a lawsuit they lost (a class action lawsuit in California) for overcharging customers. read more

Pros: New and fresh. One stop shop. Self Check Out (sometimes). Starbuck's inside. Bank of Hawaii inside. Florist. Pharmacy. Lots of parking. Video rentals. Fresh Deli sandwiches. Fresh Sushi. Fresh baked breads and desserts. Large meat department. Large beer and wine selection. Great place to go to cool off on a hot day. Clean bathrooms. Very friendly and helpful employees. Have computers set up to load your Just4U card and print out your shopping list. Has a small lounge area with WIFI Cons: High priced, especially the produce and fruit. 13 check out lines, but they only open 3, even during high volume times. Wear your jacket on cool days. This place is c-c-c-ca- COLD. The parking lot is confusing and people cut through stalls. DANGER! Just4U usually works but sometimes you get over charged for items. Always have to check receipt before leaving the store. When something goes on sale and is wiped out, you won't see it again for months. It's a long walk to the opposite side of the store if you forget something. Their wagons have that stupid locking wheel and anti wheelie bar device. read more

Safeway is pricey on the mainland so as you can imagine it's going to be even pricier in Hawaii. However they do have great sales. If you look for the manager special 50% off items, you can find some epic deals. read more

This Safeway really needs to have it's organizational leadership either better trained, or replaced, because it seems to be an administrative mess that's rolling downhill onto the rest of the staff. The checkout people are pretty efficient, and I see people in the deli, etc. working hard, but there just isn't enough help in the store. Lines can get atrocious, and management doesn't seem to know how to react appropriately when more help is needed in any particular area. Yesterday there were 2 checkout lanes as well as the self checkout open during the busiest part of the evening, and it was an absolute catastrophe. Customers were backed all the way halfway down the aisles, forming their own lines, bunching up into a mob at the self checkout... I just had to abandon my 4 items and leave. There was no way. I watched the situation unfold for 5 minutes or so with no movement before I decided to abandon ship, and I never saw any help arrive. Usually when things are going down in flames at the checkout, you see a manager or two hurry over and open a line and immediately get on the intercom to call for backup... not here. The worst part is that it seems clear that they don't care, because they know how limited our other options are on this side of the island. I hope they can get their administrative issues ironed out. read more

This Safeway is great. Has everything we need and good sale prices with a Safeway card. Shop here and earn gas credits. For example a 3 credit in gas is 30 cents off per gallon on already low prices gas. Food is always fresh, fresh produce is local a lot of time. This is a big store with lots of choices. Employees have much aloha read more

The new Safeway in Hilo is pretty damn big! Look for the deals, you won't be disappointed. If you need a lil' zip go to Starbucks and if you're low on cash go to Bank of Hawaii...they're all inside of Safeway! Whew nice! read more

Clean. Variety of Items. Good sales using Just $ U on line coupons. Staff knowledgeable and friendly and helpful. Just wish they would STOP all the paging. paging. paging. Buy some talkie talkies for your staff and play nice music. Great deli and bakery. Shop at Safeway! read more

DUH! Did ALL the other reviewers forget about the FREE Wi-Fi?! (Woo Hoo!) Not that I use it myself, but there is a special seating area by the bathrooms where you can use the wall outlets to plug in your laptop and get FREE High Speed internet! (Awesome!) I just wish they still had the printers where you could print out your "Just For You" deals. No More! (Too bad - so sad!) OH! One MAJOR gripe! There is ALWAYS this everpresent drone over the intercom: "Deli Department - Please call 211" (or something like that) This automated recording plays OVER and OVER and OVER - drilling into my brain! Surely you've heard it! ATTENTION HILO SAFEWAY MANAGERS - PLEASE! Make it STOP! I cannot think about what I am buying if I have to listen to that CRAP! Mahalo, C.J. read more

Being a mainlander, I got sticker shock. It looks like everything has an import mark up. Everything was $1-5 more than the mainland. If you got deep pockets, The food selection and variety is hard to beat. Definitely my favorite grocer on the mainland... way too expensive on the Island. read more

Cheapest cash price gasoline in Hilo usually by around 10 cents. Waits can be long if you go at the wrong time of day, but worth it.

Such poor customer service. I called customer service at the Hilo location in regards to a $500 unauthorized transaction that was made. Remzy, the employee who answered the phone when I called, Hung up on me, spoke to his friends in the background while I was trying to explain to him my situation, Very rude, put me on hold multiple times only to say he couldnt help me. I hope youre working tomorrow deary. read more

Pharmacy department really failed me. Asked if they had a way to check my blood sugars, but they said no. I am diabetic and was feeling funky, but couldn't tell if it was because bs was high or low. Pretty sure since they have a clinic that they could have helped me. They will not have my business. Young man went and asked in clinic if they had a tester, but he sheepishly told me that they had nothing...Pharmacist was listening, but offered no solution. read more

I have a love/hate relationship with this damned store. On one hand, it's Safeway and I do like the gas rewards.. on the other hand, OMG the crazyness. $5 Fridays are like Black Fridays .. it's a hit or miss with prices/sales. If you live here, you know, you need to become a sales ninja.. if there is a good sale just know that they will run out, but not to fret.. because rainchecks are your friend. I like that you can do the digital coupons there on your card, then come back again and get the same deal with a paper coupon (if the limit is one on your card). You need to be super save saavy, but if you put in the extra work with the J4u and stuff, you can save alot of money. Never buy stuff that they need to ship in, (i.e., Minute Maid, etc.) try to buy local brands to save money. They almost NEVER have the manager special meats.. so if you see a good sale on them, stock up, and move on .. super friendly staff, I've been going to Safeway for years, my Safeway card is only 4 numbers, I was one of the first ones to get one.. so safe to say, out of all the Safeways I've been to, these employees are the nicest, yes, even if you use coupons. I'd have to say, on a savings scale.. you can work it on a Friday.. but either go really early, or be prepared to maneuver your cart on the damned aisle Indy500. Good Luck Kids ! read more

I just discovered Club Savings discount tags on the product shelves that had expired 3 DAYS AGO and it was NOT discounted at checkout. Read the printed expiration date on the "sale" item before you buy it!!! read more